Thanksgiving Vacation

Mia had all week of Thanksgiving off so MN Grandma and I decided to take the girls to MN for a surprise visit for a few days. We stayed by the Mall of America and had lots of surprises planned. We first stopped by our old haunts on Grand Ave and Grandma tried on a mother of the groom dress and the girls shopped with their birthday money from Grandpa. We then checked into the hotel and went over to MOA for dinner. We had a great dinner and then went back to the hotel so the girls could have an evening swim. The pool was small but perfect size for them to swim around. On Sunday, we woke up and they swam again after breakfast and we then met up with my parent's old neighbors at American Girl for lunch. The girls loved playing with Georgie and Stella and it was great to catch up with Krista and then do a little shopping. Mia's doll got her ears pierced and Sadie's doll got a new hairdo and both got new outfits. We then went back to the hotel for naps and Grandma met some friends for dinner while we hung out at the hotel. On Monday morning, we did more swimming and then went over to the Crayola experience at MOA since the girls really loved it when we went in May. We had lunch and then they went back to the hotel and I got to visit with Val who was at her parent's house so nice to see her since her NJ move. We went to one of my favorite restaurants for an early dinner and then one last swim for the girls before we headed home Tuesday morning. It was a quick, busy trip but we had a great time and nice to be back but so happy my parents no longer live there! Thanks for a lot of fun Grandma and can't wait to visit again...

Happy 7th Birthday Mia!

Jim and I are still in disbelief that Mia turned 7 yesterday. She seems much older but yet I can't believe I've been a mother for 7 years now! She makes it either very easy or very tough but we are so proud of the remarkable young lady she is becoming. We skipped the friend birthday party this year for the fun, family experiences route instead. Last weekend, we met Uncle Erik and Jenny at the circus and Mia was very excited to go...Sadie not so much and it was a circus getting her to stay calm and seated but thankfully Jenny rubbed her hair for the second act which put her in a trance. Mia couldn't wait to get cotton candy and both girls picked out another new stuffed animal - their favorite selection always! We last went when Mia was five so the show changed a bit but still fun to watch. This past Saturday, we went to Enchanted Castle in the afternoon per Mia's request with MN Grandma. She went on a field trip there this Summer with camp and loved it so she was dying to go for her birthday. They have tons of arcade games, laser tag, rides, bumper cars, bouncies and an indoor playground so the girls had a great time doing most everything. After a fun filled afternoon there, we headed to Maggiano's (per Mia's request) for dinner and drinks for the adults who spent the afternoon at Enchanted Castle:). Dinner was a little slow and Sadie didn't want to eat but Mia enjoyed it and also got birthday cookies at the end while we sang Happy Birthday. One of our new traditions is to fill the birthday girl's room with balloons while they're sleeping and I found some glow in the dark ones that helped Mia wake up on her actual birthday. On Sunday, the girls got to open and play with their presents that morning while we hung out before swim class. They requested I make chocolate chip pancakes for brunch so I made those which helped Sadie's swimming skills so much she passed into the next level! Mia and I were so proud of her and Mia was taking video of her while she was practicing her scoops, backstroke and underwater skills. After swimming, we went home and MN Grandma picked us up so we could finally go see Trolls! Not sure who was more excited to see it but after all the trolls Uncle Erik and Jenny sent during the week, we couldn't wait to see the movie. It was really cute and highly recommend you go see it! After the movie, we went home and the Bondi's came over to celebrate with pizza and a Trolls cake! Mia was gifted gift cards to pick out a new bike in the Spring so she was very excited. We were all birthdayed out by the end of the evening and time to call it a great 7th birthday weekend extravaganza!

Happy Halloween

We've been celebrating since Friday and the girls are eagerly awaiting trick-or-treating tonight. Think this could be the first year we make it completely around the block. On Friday morning, I went to Mia's school to help decorate pumpkins which was fun although these kids needed their own pumpkin since they were done in ten minutes and they all wanted to do everything. Then her school had a Halloween bash that night so kids could wear their costumes and bring their families. It was very interesting as they had some games setup but not nearly enough for all the kids and the art room available to do a foam project but otherwise everyone was in the gym listening/dancing to loud hip hop music. The kids didn't know what all to do with themselves so they were wandering back and forth and Mia was clearly embarrassed by us and wanted to hang out with her friends only. They got a taffy apple, wandered around and after an hour we went home. I don't know if I'll survive the middle school dances in the future and I definitely won't volunteer to chaperone! Last night, MN Grandma and Grandpa came over last night to help carve pumpkins/hang out with the girls while Jim and Grandpa carved pumpkins and I cooked dinner. Think they did an awesome job! Happy Halloween!

Pumpkin Patch time

We had a free and gorgeous Sunday morning so I took the girls to Johansen Farms for one last pumpkin patch visit before Halloween. Jim had some work to do but it's pretty small so manageable by myself as long as I have cooperative girlies with me. We went early so got to hold the chicks, see the goats and pigs, ride the train by ourselves, slide down the bouncies without long lines, take a hayride, find our way out of the corn maze, go hold the chicks two more times and visit the Pooh park. The girls had a great time but were getting quite whiny at the end which means they're hangry and need to eat lunch asap before swimming! They picked out two small pumpkins and we called it a day! Every year I think we've outgrown Johansen Farms but they always have so much fun and brings back memories of going before they were even born. See you next year!

Soccer Star

Mia's soccer season ended on Saturday and she played her heart out in that last game and got an assist. She's been improving all season and really loves playing so we'll keep signing her up. She was one of two girls on her team which didn't bother her at all and made her become more aggressive. She was also on a winning team that only lost one game this season so maybe a little bit more fun than losing every game. I didn't get to take any pictures of her since Sadie snagged my phone for every game, sat on my lap and watched Peppa Pig the entire time. Thankfully, MN Grandpa got some great action shots from Saturday. Mia gets the award for Most Improved as she has come a long way from following the chem trails and being too scared to kick the ball. Indoor soccer here we come!

Trunk or Treat

We went to RSG's annual Trunk or Treat this morning and the girls were so excited for their first Halloween party of the season. The girls chose Shopkins costumes this year - Mia is Kooky Cookie and Sadie is Lippy Lips and didn't even cry about putting her costume on. The teachers all dress up and decorate their car trunks with the same theme. There were so many good ones this year - Minions, Dory, Superheros, Charlie Brown, zoo, Paw Patrol and monkey/banana. Mrs. Judy was dressed as Waldo from Where's Waldo too and looked great! The girls got their treats, took a few pictures and we were off to change for family pictures. I just love this time of year when the seasons change and the holidays are approaching.

Star of the Week

Sadie was Star of the Week in her class and soaked up every minute. She's really changing and acting a lot older recently except for the tantrum this morning about wearing socks...Anyways, who knew she wanted to be a police officer? Sure hope that will change as she would not like wearing that uniform everyday since Princess prefers dresses. Have another busy weekend coming up and supposed to take family pictures as long as it doesn't rain Sunday. Mia is not thrilled about running errands, going to ballet and soccer and taking family pictures so will try to include something fun for the girls at some point in the weekend. TGIF!

Bengstons Pumpkin Patch

It has been a whirlwind since I last posted and all good things happening but keeping us very busy and making me reflect if it's time to close down this little blog. We have been busy with school, soccer, ballet, additional work responsibilities, cleaning out the junk in our house and streamlining and celebrating Erik and Jenny's engagement this past weekend as well as our annual visit to Bengstons. Life is busy but good and full. The girls love a pumpkin patch and we love watching them have a great time and make more memories. Each year Bengstons gets even better and more crowded but it's still the best pumpkin patch around and it was a beautiful fall day on Sunday morning. The website said it opened at 10 but they let people in at 9 so it was already quite crowded when we got there so we did some rides right away and then headed to the big corn box as the girls were dying to jump in! They stayed in there for a while before we headed to the petting zoo and fed goats, emus, cows, and not even sure what else was there as Sadie only liked the goats and I was with her. Then, we stopped at the grilled cheese truck for lunch and then walked around more, stopped by the pig races, saw the other animals and called it a day after more pictures since it was so crowded and the girls were melting down fast. Thanks for joining us MN Grandma and Grandpa, we had a great time!

Harvest Fest

Sorry for the radio silence but it has been a busy couple weeks with work, school, activities and other things I can't remember now:) Mia had a soccer game yesterday morning against her old coach and they were matched up very well and ended up losing by one goal. I took Sadie to ballet and then we took a quick nap and went to Burr Ridge's Harvest Fest. This was the first year Jim's fishing team didn't volunteer and it was great having him walk around with us. There were fewer rides this year but we started with those and I was so sick from the twirling strawberries, I couldn't go on any others. Jim rode the swings with them and then we did all the games that the girl and boy scouts, athletic teams and other supporters put on. The girls love winning prizes and took home a bag of loot! We stopped by the balloon lady and got some popcorn before we went back to the ride area and they did all the bouncies, rode the big slide again and then we stopped at the huge bubble station on our way out. Sadie was too afraid to sit in the picture area because of the big blowup pumpkin so I didn't get a good picture of them so could be interesting with Santa this year. We had a great time at Harvest Fest again this year and love the change of seasons and all the holidays coming up! Best picture award goes to Sadie coming down the slide with Jim...what a nutball!